By this, however, may be understood his return
to the court at Edinburgh, having had leave of absence to visit his
friends in London.
THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.
"More swift than lightning can I flye
About this aery welkin soone;
And, in a minute's space, descrye
Each thing that's done below the moone."
--BEN JONSON.
"When I consider whether there are such persons as _witches_, my
mind is divided: I believe, in general, that there is such a thing
as witchcraft, but can give no credit to any particular instance of
it."--ADDISON.
The term witchcraft, says the historian of Whalley, is now "transferred
to a gentler species of fascination, which my fair countrywomen still
continue to exert in full force, without any apprehension of the county
magistrates, or even of the king in council."
Far different was the application in days of old. The common parish
witch is thus described by a contemporary writer, as an old woman "with
a wrinkled face, a furred brow, a hairy lip, a gobber tooth, a squint
eye, a squeaking voice, or a scolding tongue; having a rugged coat on
her back, a skull-cap on her head, a spindle in her hand, and a dog or
cat by her side.
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